I wet my lips, get lost in those eyes, and on a leap and a prayer, I say, “I love you, too.”

“Fuck,” he says in an exhale before tilting my jaw up and pressing his lips to mine. My arms instantly wrap around his neck and I deepen the kiss, letting go of the anger and tension that’s drained from me.

Oddly, he’s everything I’ve ever wanted. He challenges me. Teases me. And passionately loves me.

When he pulls away, he grips my cheeks and rests his forehead on mine. “Please tell me it’s a yes. Please tell me you’ll be mine forever.”

Locking gazes with him, I say, “I’m yours forever, Huxley.”

“Thank fuck,” he says, lifting my hand and pressing a kiss to my knuckles. Then, he takes the fake engagement ring off my finger and replaces it with the real thing. He gives it a kiss and asks, “Do you like it?”

I smile. “I love it, just like I love you.”

He presses another kiss to my lips and then quietly says, “Looks like you snagged yourself a rich husband after all.”

I chuckle. “I think it was the braids.”

“It was the braids for sure.”

He pulls me into a hug, then lifts me up and spins me around as we both laugh.

Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, when you don’t think there’s any way you could climb the mountain again to find happiness, you stumble across a trail, one that has its bumps and bruises, but offers a gorgeous outcome. I might not have known the outcome of saying yes to Huxley and his crazy scheme, but I’m so glad I did, because I can’t imagine what this life would be like without him.

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Epilogue

HUXLEY

“Does my butt look good?”

“For the tenth time, your ass looks amazing,” I say, though I don’t even bother to look at it this time. I’m sure it hasn’t changed in the last minute, and the more I stare at it, the more I’m going to get hard, and the last thing I want to do is be hard when we walk into Lottie’s high school reunion.

“This dress wasn’t too much? It feels like too much.”

I stop her and spin her toward me. She’s wearing a deep-purple dress that clings to every curve of her body and lifts her tits, giving her impossible cleavage. When she stepped out of our bathroom, my jaw hit the floor and my dick grew in seconds. She paired the dress with four-inch black stilettos, my kryptonite. I immediately reached for her but she blocked me with a stiff arm, saying I wasn’t allowed to touch her sexually until after the reunion because she didn’t want me ruining her hair and makeup.

I didn’t touch her in the house, but the moment we got to the car, I put up the privacy shield, lifted her legs over my shoulders, and ate her out until she came twice. In return, she gave me one of the quickest blow jobs of my life. I was primed and ready from her taste on my lips, so it didn’t take long. Even if I wasn’t allowed to pull on her hair like I normally love to do. Both satisfied, we made our way into the Beverly Hillshire Hotel, which made Lottie laugh, given the start of our relationship, and its Pretty Woman vibe.

“The dress is perfect, babe. I promise, you look amazing.” I kiss her cheek and then lean toward her ear. “So goddamn amazing that it’s taking every last ounce of my control to not fuck you right here in this hallway.”

My hand presses to the curve of her hip and I move her against the wall.

“Huxley,” she says breathlessly.

“You can’t say my name like that. You’re going to make me hard,” I whisper, placing a kiss on her neck. She tilts her head to the side. “Babe, you’re taunting me.”

“You’re the one doing the taunting,” she says as I kiss the spot beneath her ear. She lightly moans.

“Lottie . . . do you want me to fuck you right here—”

“Excuse me, we’re hosting a high school reunion here,” a shrill voice says.

When I pull away, I’m met with a woman in a bubble gum-colored dress. There’s a man attached to her arm, but he honestly looks fake. There’s no connection in his eyes, no caring. It’s as if he’s just present. When I finally notice the woman speaking to us, I realize it’s Angela.

“Oh, Lottie,” Angela says, placing her hand on her chest. I watch as her eyes rake over my fiancée. Her lips turn down, and I know right then and there, she’s jealous. When Lottie’s hand clutches around mine, I know Lottie saw it too. “I didn’t realize that was you.” Angela turns to me. “Huxley, how are you?”

I hate that she thinks we’re friends.

“Great,” I answer, lifting Lottie’s hand and placing a kiss on the back of her knuckles, the same hand that bears her engagement ring. Angela’s eyes land on it and she has a very hard time masking her emotions as jealousy rips through her. “Sorry about that PDA, but my girl is stunning in this dress and I can’t seem to keep my hands off her. She made me swear I wouldn’t ruin her hair and makeup. I think I did a good job of that in the car, don’t you?”

Her eyes narrow but then she must realize she has to put on a show, because she straightens up and leans against her man, who is, unfortunately for Angela, checking out another woman.

“Oh, yes, Brad and I had a hard time controlling ourselves in the car as well. The man is horny all the time.”

He doesn’t acknowledge her, but instead bites the corner of his lip as a blonde walks by.

“What happened to Ken?” Lottie asks.

Angela dismissively waves her hand. “He got boring.”

Aka, he broke up with her.

“But Brad and I are just having the best time. Isn’t that right?” She tugs on Brad’s arm.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” he says, taking off without another word, following that blonde.

Still putting on a happy face, Angela asks, “So, have you two actually set a date?”

“December tenth,” Lottie says. “We’re going to Tulum and flying our closest friends and family down for a two-week-long wedding celebration.”

“Oh, how exciting.” Angela perks up, clearly missing the mark that she’s not invited. “Should I book my flight now?”

Really, really obtuse.

“No, that’s okay. We’ll be fine getting married without you.”

She frowns. “Lottie, I’m your best friend.”

“Nope, that’s not accurate.” Lottie shakes her head. Her confidence is making me so goddamn horny right now. I hope she doesn’t plan on staying at this reunion very long. “But thank you for thinking so kindly of me.” Lottie smiles. “Oh, and hey, sorry to hear about your top two sponsors pulling out of advertising. That must have been hard.”

Angela’s frown deepens.

“I know how hard it was to keep those accounts happy, as it was always me ensuring they had everything they ever needed. Such a shame, but, hey”—Lottie winks—“at least you’re saving money when it comes to hiring mediocre employees.”

That frown grows even more.

“Did you happen to see Kelsey and I are in business now? We just signed a one-million-dollar contract with Dave Toney. We’re in way over our heads and plan on hiring quite a few hands to help us get the job done. Don’t worry, though, we’ll keep the mediocre employees at your disposal. We only want the best so we pay them what they deserve. Anyway”—Lottie reaches up and presses a kiss to my cheek—“I’m kind of over this. Want to go grab a burger?”

I smirk. “Care to fly to Portland? I’m craving Killer Burger.”

“I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.” Lottie turns to Angela. “So not nice to see you again. Take care, Angela.”

And with that, hand in hand, we walk out of the hotel and straight to where my car is waiting. I call up my pilot and tell him to meet us at the airport. My girl wants a burger, she’s going to get one.

As we drive through the city, I think about how lucky I am.

I had been so wrong in so many ways. In suggesting a flagrant deception was the way to get a business deal. To think that Dave, who I’d always known to be a stand-up guy, hadn’t believed in Cane Enterprises all along. To believe that this gorgeous woman in my arms was capable of the sort of betrayal I’d suggested. Ridiculous. I’m fucking lucky. I’ve had to eat humble pie, and I won’t ever take her for granted again. Nor will I fabricate a story to get a deal.